Have a nice day
According to some journalists and scholars, its repetitious and dutiful usage has resulted in the phrase developing secondary cultural connotations of, variously, impersonality, lack of interest, passive–aggressive behavior, sarcasm or as a definitive way to put an end to a conversation and dismiss the other party.
In the United States, the phrase was first used on a regular basis in the early to mid 1960s by FAA air traffic controllers and pilots.
In conjunction with the smiley face, the phrase became a defining cultural emblem of the 1970s and was a key theme in the 1991 film My Own Private Idaho.
[3] Abigail Goldman of the Los Angeles Times, wrote that the smiley face and the expression "have a nice day" "helped to define the '70s".
[9] In the early 1970s, Philadelphian brothers Murray and Bernard Spain designed and sold products including bumper stickers and coffee mugs that each contained the yellow smiley face, usually attributed to Harvey Ball.
[11][12] The 1991 film My Own Private Idaho ironically ends with the parting phrase "have a nice day", which for the fourth time invokes the smiley face.
[13] Smiley faces represent optimism and appear to ask the characters, who are characterized as "marginal figures", how nice their days are.
[14] While traveling to Idaho, the protagonists' motorcycle breaks down, and one of the characters, Mike, gazes at the sun on the horizon and links it with the motto "have a nice day".
The album cover contains a red smiley face which guitarist Richie Sambora stated echoes its title song.
[28] In her 2001 book The Facts on File Dictionary of Clichés, Christina Ammer wrote about the growing usage of "have a good meal" in restaurants.
[3] Academic Sandi Mann's interviews found that the British wished and demanded cordiality from service personnel, more than from their coworkers.
[30] On November 3, 2007, two robbers equipped with handguns stole money from a kiosk at a Vale, North Carolina store; the Hickory Daily Record called them "courteous crooks" because after the theft, they told people to "have a nice day".
In the television ads, the Arabic phrase for "have a nice day" would flash onto the screen in black letters and on a red background.
"[37] Spokeswoman Abir Kopty stated that "[t]he purpose of this campaign was mainly to cause the Israeli public sitting at home, or walking down the street, to ask itself why it had a negative reaction to everything Arab, even if it is the simplest phrase.
This is a true story, and a German friend who was with me that day happens to have a good sense of humor and was mildly amused by this strange American custom.
Europeans generally feel the phrase "have a nice day" is fake and that the speaker is solely interacting with the listener for business purposes.
[42] In their 2002 book Different Games, Different Rules, Haru Yamada and Deborah Tannen recalled teaching a class in London, where a student construed "have a nice day" to be insincere.
Schorr explains that "bonne journée" is a "gracious formule de politesse", similar to merci and s'il vous plaît.
Fridén stated that the increased usage of English loan expressions like "ha en bra dag" "impairs our sense of language and style".
[49] In 1979, a New York judge sentenced a man to a seven- to ten-year jail term at the Auburn State Prison for committing a robbery.
[56] Individuals affected by the "Have a Nice Day" syndrome must carry out emotional labor,[57] which could lead to diminished self-esteem, depression, and cynicism.
[64] In a 2006 study, researchers at Frankfurt University discovered that people who must smile and say "have a nice day" in their jobs are more prone to illness.
[65] Australian Andrew Biggs of the Bangkok Post wrote that in the past, the phrase was heard exclusively in Hollywood movies and American soap operas.
Broad wrote that the phrase "have a nice day" is an apt middle ground for the "drop dead" the cashier is thinking and the "come back soon" the owner wants.
[23] In 1982, comedian George Carlin joked at Carnegie Hall, "That's the trouble with 'Have a nice day'; it puts all the pressure on you.
"[69] William Safire of The New York Times wrote that when the speaker of the phrase is genuine and maintains eye contact, the act is a "social asset and a note of civility" in a busy world.
[70] Satirical commentator Russell Baker wrote in the Chicago Tribune that he did not know Ma Bell was waning until she began using the phrase "have a nice day".
It oils the squeaky old cogs of social interaction, makes it more pleasant for millions of hard-packed people to coexist in an often brutal, unnaturally vertical city.
'"[74] Writing that society has become so automated that going through a check-out line at a grocery store without having made eye contact or spoken with the checker is possible, Swiderski favored "insincerely meant human kindness to a robot".
[74] Jeff Corbett of The Newcastle Herald defended "have a nice day" despite his characterization of the phrase as "wincingly American and so patently false in its sing-song delivery" by cashiers.
